FBI Searches Biden Papers at University of Delaware

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Facts

• According to a source familiar with the matter, the FBI has conducted two searches at the University of Delaware as part of its investigation into US Pres. Joe Biden's potential mishandling of sensitive government records.¹
• Biden, who graduated from the University in 1965, donated over 1.8k boxes of records from his time as US Senator in 2012. Under the terms of the gift, the records are to remain sealed until two years after he retires from public life.²
• Sources report that the FBI conducted the searches in late January and early February, with agents retrieving multiple boxes from the college. The material recovered reportedly didn't appear to have classified markings, though the files are now being analyzed by the FBI.³
• Earlier this year, Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed special counsel Robert Hur to lead the federal investigation after classified documents were discovered at Biden's think tank office in Washington and one of his houses in Delaware.⁴
• The searches were reportedly carried out with the cooperation of Biden — who is expected to announce a re-election campaign in the coming weeks or month — and his legal team.⁵
• Former Pres. Donald Trump is also still under investigation for classified documents found at his Florida residence, and former VP Mike Pence recently revealed that he found classified material at his Indiana home — searched by the FBI last week.⁴

Sources: ¹CNN, ²Daily Wire, ³BBC News, ⁴New York Times and ⁵Reuters.

Narratives

• Republican narrative, as provided by New York Post. Every link to potentially mishandled classified documents adds to Biden's long list of offenses. If the most recent documents are found to contain classified matters, then we know he’s been illegally handling them for more than a decade. The White House keeps saying it’s taking this case seriously, but the president has voiced no regrets over the matter, and his spokespeople have been stonewalling questions about the investigation.
• Democratic narrative, as provided by MSNBC. The only similarity between Biden's and Trump’s situations is that both cases involve classified documents. Otherwise, the scenarios are totally different, as Biden has voluntarily informed the DOJ about the discoveries and has cooperated with authorities every step of the way. Trump, however, forced the DOJ to get a warrant and conduct a surprise search — and we still don’t know if all of his documents have been returned.
• Cynical narrative, as provided by CNN. That both Biden and Trump have been called out for possessing documents they shouldn’t have had should shed light on the issue of overclassification, which has increased exorbitantly over the past decade, creating an administrative nightmare. There must be reforms to the flawed classification system.